Brake-block



(No Model.)

.J. A. ALLEN.

BRAKE BLOCK.

No. 309,017. v Patented Dec. 9, 1884.

linrrnn h'ra'rns Parnwr @rrrca.

JACOB A. ALLEN, OF CINCINNATI, ()IIIO.

BRAKE- BLOCK.

QIECIFICATIGN forming part of Letters Patent No. 309,017, dated December 9, 1884:.

Application filed September 34, 1884.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JACOB A. ALLEN, a citizen of the United States, residing at 0hr cinnati, in the county of Hamilton and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Brake-Blocks, of which the following is a-specification,reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to those brake-blocks which are employed for holding shoes or rubbers in contact with the peripheries of carwheels when it is desired to arrest the revolution of the latter; and my improvement coniprises a novel construction of such devices, whereby the blocks can be applied to the brake-bars without using pins, bolts, or other special retaining appliances, or without being compelled to perforate either the block or bar. To accomplish this result I make the block wider at bottom than at top, in order that it may hang from a downwardly-flaring bearing on the outer side of the shoe, said bearing being provided with dovetailed ribs that engage with undercut cheeks of the block, and thereby hold the latter in its proper place. Furthermore, the block has a horizontal mortise, which is traversed by one end of the brake-bar, an integral projecting rib at one side of said mortise being adapted to enter a notch in the edge of the bar, so as to hold said block in its proper place, while at the same time said rib serves as a fulcrum that allows a slight horizontal turning of the block on the bar, in order that the shoe may accommodate itself to any irregular wear in the periphery of the wheel. As soon as the bar is inserted in the block, and the latter is sus pended on the previously-described flaring bearing of the shoe, said bearing presses against the unnotched edge of said bar, and thus locks the latter within the mortise, as hereinafter more fully described.

In the annexed drawings, Figure l is a side elevation showing my improved brake-block applied to the shoe of an ordinary car-wheel. Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of the shoe and its attachments, the car-wheel being omitted (No model.)

block, and bar, said section being taken at the line Z Z. Fig. 6 is a horizontal section of the connected shoe, block, and bar.

A represents a portion of the body of a street or other car, and B is part of one of the wheels of the same, which wheel may be of any approved construction, as it constitutes no part of my invention.

Suspended either from the car or from a frame by suitable hangers, O G, or otherwise, is a shoe, D,whose concave surface is so shaped as to conform to a-portion of the periphery of the wheel 13, while the opposite edge of said shoe takes the shape of a flat bearing, E, that is somewhat wider at bottom than at top, as seen in Fig. 2. This bearing is flanked on its opposite sides with dovetail ribs F F, as more clearly seen in Fig. 6, said ribs being adapted to fit snugly within the undercut cheeks G G of the brake-block H, which lat ter, like the bearing E, is wider at bottom than at top. Furthermore, this block has a horizontal mortise, I, that extends a slight distance into the undercut cheeks G G,as seen in Fig. l, said mortise being designed to admit one end of the brake-bar J. This bar is operated by a connecting-rod, K, (seen in Fig. 2,) which rod is attached to the brake mechanism of the car.

The rear edge of brake-bar J is notched at L to admit a rib, M, projecting into the 1nortise I, by which arrangement said block is prevented shifting longitudinally of said bar.

In fitting my brake mechanism together the shoe D is first hung in the usual manner, and the bar J is then slippedinto the mortise I until the rib M of block H engages with the notch. L of said bar, which notch must be so located as to dispose the block in the proper relative position for holding the shoe against the periphery of wheel The block,with the bar coupled thereto, is now dropped down onto the shoe, so as to cause the undercut cheeks G G of said block to embrace the dovetailed ribs F F of said shoe, as seen in Figs. 1 and 6. This act forces the flat bearing E against the unnotched edge of bar J, and thereby locks the latter in position. Now, as there must be a block at each end of the brake-bar J, and as the weight of these three members is continually hanging on the bearing E of each of the shoes, it is evident that said bar cannot be uncoupled from either block until the latter is intentionally lifted up far enough to clear said bearing. Therefore, as the bar is retained in the block solely by the weight of these members J K, which cause the notch L to engage with the integral rib M, the use of rivets or bolts, or other separable devices for this purpose, is entirely obviated, and there being no holes drilled or punched either in the bar or block the full strength of the metal is utilized. Finally, the devices L M allow the block to turn or swing to a limited extent in a horizontal plane, and by making the mortise I comparatively wide from top to bottom the bar J may have more freedom of motion within said block.

I claim as my invention 1. As a new article of manufacture, the brake-block II, made wider at bottom than at top, and provided with two undercut cheeks, G G, a horizontal mortise, I, and a rib, M, projecting into said mortise, for the purpose specified.

2. In combination with the brake-block H, having a horizontal mortise, I, and an integral rib, M, at one side of the latter, the brake-bar J, notched at L and engaging with said rib in the manner described, and for the purpose JACOB A ALLEN.

\Vitn esses JAMES H. LAYMAN, GEORGE E. Knnrnn. 

